Bob Hanna: Finnerty returns to marathons

Larry Finnerty — school teacher, guidance counselor, basketball referee, marathoner, ultra-marathoner and New Bedford School Committee member — is back running marathons.

The guy who doctors said would probably never run again back in 1981 after he severely tore the hamstring and abductor muscles in his leg in a 50-mile race (he still finished second); the guy who five months earlier ran 100 miles around a quarter-mile track (400 laps); the guy who has undergone four surgeries on his back — that guy — ran the Baystate Marathon three weeks ago, his third marathon this year.

He wasn't satisfied with his times in the first two, running a 4:15 in 87-degree heat in Boston and a 3:26 in Providence three weeks later. But he was delighted with his time in Lowell — 3:14:48.8.

How good is that? Well, that's a 7:27 per mile pace, which is pretty darned good over 26.2 miles for a guy 64 years old.

"I was really happy with that," he said. "I knew I had a good one coming. I changed my focus in training and that helped. I eliminated the 5k races because they weren't doing any good and concentrated more on longer races."

That sub-3:15 time was good for 166th place in a field of more than 1,200 and second in his age division (60-69). Needless to say, he has no plans to stop running marathons any time soon.

I fully expect him to run a marathon when he turns 80. Hell, he'll probably run one when he's 90.

The third annual 2-mile ORR Bulldog Dash is set for Saturday, Nov. 24 at the Old Rochester Regional Junior/Senior High School on Route 6 in Mattapoisett.

This is a multi-event affair with a 100-yard dash for pre-schoolers (ages 3 and 4) at 9:30 a.m., followed by an Elementary School quarter-mile run (kindergarten to Grade 6), and the 2-mile dash, which is open to all ages, at 11 a.m. A non-competitive walk will be held concurrently with the two-mile run.

The top three men and women in the 2-miler will receive cash prizes of $100, $50, and $25, with awards also going to the winners in eight age divisions — 12-and-under, 13-18, 19-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, and 70-and-over.

There will also be awards for all runners in the pre-school race and the grade winners in the quarter-mile race. T-shirts are guaranteed to all those who register by Nov. 10 and there will be plenty of food and beverages for all participants.

Entry fee is $10 for the kids races and $15 for the two-mile runners and walkers. Online registration is available at www.jbrace.com, but will close at noon on Nov. 23.

For further information, call race director Cindy Tilden at 508-748-0383.

The 29th annual 5-mile Taunton YMCA Turkey Trot will be held next Sunday (Nov. 12) at 10 a.m. at the YMCA at 71 Cohannet St., with all proceeds going to the Y's Strong Kids Campaign.

Awards will go to the men and women's overall winners and the top three finishers in each age division (13-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-79, and 80-and-over). T-shirts will be given to all pre-registered entries.

Baby-sitting will be available and there will be lots of activities for the kids, including face-painting and arts and crafts.

Entry fee is $25. Online registration is available at jbrace.com. For further information, call 508-823-3320.

The Frosty Runner Road Race, consisting of a 10-mile race and 3.1 mile walk/run, returns Jan. 26, at Old Colony Voc-Tech in Rochester.

T-shirts will go to the first 100 pre-registered runners and walkers, with awards going to the men and women's overall winners and the top three male and female finishers in the age divisions (18-and-under, 19-29 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, and 70-and-over).

Online (jbrace.com) registration fee is $18; pre-registration is $20, and post-race entry the day of the race is $25. Refreshments will be available.

Daniel Croteau of Acushnet and Mary Cass of Westport were easy winners in the fifth annual BWS 5k at Fort Taber in New Bedford.

Croteau set a course record with a time of 16:45, eclipsing the old mark of 16:54 set by Keith Nadeau in 2008.

Finishing second was Jeff Reed of New Bedford in 17:39, followed by Mauricio Silva of Fairhaven, 18:04; Steve Bradham of Somerset, 18:11, and Sal Corrao of Mattapoisett, 18:13.

The 51-year-old Cass recorded a 19:46, 40 seconds ahead of runner-up Julie Craig, 45, of Mattapoisett. They also finished one-two in the 5k portion of the Spooner/Spooky doubleheader last week at Buttonwood Park.

Finishing third was Kate Diogo of Rehoboth in 20:41, followed by Jacqueline Francisco of Dartmouth, 22:13, and Kelly Tanguay of Raynham, 22:14.